Tooth measurement and crown preparation is a common procedure in general dental practice and dental students are often required to demonstrate competency in this procedure to graduate from dental school. The training of these techniques is subjective, as a dentist or student relies upon an “eyeballing” of a crown preparation rather than relying upon a definitive measure. Moreover, dental students are required to pass taper criteria in the Manikin-based dental examination for crown preparation, as the dental students are required to taper a tooth wall from nearly parallel to 12°. The dental student can be subject to a failing grade if the taper of the tooth wall is grossly over-reduced, or reduced to over 16°. Students and exam administrators do not have an objective tool to measure a degree of the tapering of the side wall of a tooth, often meaning that dental students are subject to a passing or failing score based on a subjective opinion of the instructor. As such, a need exists to perform a more formal assessment of a tapering of a side wall of a tooth.